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Serving Central Vietnam: Quảng Trị and Quảng Ngãi

Project RENEW works in two provinces of central Vietnam: Quảng Trị, where we have operated since 2001, and Quảng Ngãi, where we expanded in 2019. Both provinces carry a heavy legacy of unexploded ordnance from the war, and both were reshaped by Vietnam’s national administrative reform of 1 July 2025.

Our work in each place is guided by the same principle: prevent accidents before they happen, and stand with the people already living with the consequences.

The New Quảng Trị Province

Merger of Quảng Trị and Quảng Bình, effective 1 July 2025

As of 1 July 2025, the former provinces of Quảng Trị and Quảng Bình were officially merged into a new Quảng Trị Province, as part of Vietnam’s national administrative reform. The expanded province includes regions that were among the most heavily bombed during the war, and remain some of the most UXO-contaminated areas in the country.

Bombing map of Quảng Trị Province

Geography & Administrative Overview

  • The new province includes coastal lowlands, upland areas, and border regions with Laos.
  • It comprises 78 commune-level administrative units, after the elimination of the district tier.
  • The new provincial capital is Đồng Hới City, formerly the capital of Quảng Bình.

The Legacy of War: UXO Threats

  • The legacy of war continues to endanger lives and hinder development across the province.
  • In the former Quảng Trị alone, approximately 40% of the land is contaminated with unexploded cluster munitions that still need to be cleared, according to the Quang Tri Mine Action Center (QTMAC).
  • Since 1975, more than 8,000 people have been killed or injured by unexploded ordnance (UXO), with children accounting for nearly one-third of all casualties.

Project RENEW’s Core Roles in Quảng Trị

1️⃣ UXO Risk Education

RENEW leads community-based UXO Risk Education efforts, helping people recognize and report explosive hazards, with particular attention to children, farmers, and ethnic minority communities.

  • Community Reporting Networks and school outreach ensure timely awareness.
  • Hotline promotions and public messaging help prevent accidents in high-risk areas.

2️⃣ Victim Assistance

RENEW provides direct support to UXO and Agent Orange survivors, as well as persons with disabilities, through:

  • Prosthetics and orthotics services, mobile outreach clinics, and follow-up care.
  • Livelihood support through vocational training and other income-generation initiatives.
  • Home modifications to improve accessibility for persons with severe disabilities.
  • Support to rehabilitation and care centers in coordination with local health and social service departments.
  • Disability Law dissemination to raise awareness and promote the inclusion and rights of persons with disabilities.

3️⃣ UXO Clearance, in Partnership with Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA)

UXO survey and clearance across the new Quảng Trị Province is conducted in close partnership with Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA).

  • In the former Quảng Trị, NPA/RENEW deploys 15 Battle Area Clearance (BAC) teams focusing on clearing confirmed hazardous areas identified through the technical survey process, and one mobile Explosive Ordnance Disposal team responding to emergency callouts from local residents to the hotline.
  • In the former Quảng Bình, NPA has been implementing a Cluster Munitions Remnants Survey (CMRS) project since 2020, in a consortium that includes MAG and PeaceTrees Vietnam.

Challenges for Development

  • Poverty remains concentrated in remote areas, with rates exceeding 30% in some ethnic minority communes.
  • The province is home to more than 72,300 persons with disabilities. In the former Quảng Trị alone, 15,485 people are recognised as Agent Orange victims, 5,000 of them children.
  • Many communities lack adequate access to healthcare, education, and employment opportunities.

Environmental & Climate Pressures

  • The province faces increasing exposure to typhoons, floods, droughts, and salinity intrusion.
  • Both coastal and upland communities are vulnerable and require resilience-building strategies.

Quảng Ngãi Province

Merger of Quảng Ngãi and Kon Tum, effective 1 July 2025

Project RENEW expanded its operations into Quảng Ngãi in 2019 and maintains a presence there today. On 1 July 2025, under the same national administrative reform, Quảng Ngãi merged with Kon Tum to form a single province of roughly 14,800 square kilometres and more than 2.1 million people, stretching from the Trường Sơn highlands to the East Sea coast. The provincial capital remains Quảng Ngãi City.

Like Quảng Trị, the province still holds explosive remnants of war in its farmland, riverbeds, and forest margins. Farmers, scrap metal collectors, and children remain the most exposed.

Project RENEW’s Core Roles in Quảng Ngãi

RENEW’s work in Quảng Ngãi rests on two pillars. Survey and clearance operations in the province are carried out by other mine action operators.

1️⃣ UXO Risk Education

RENEW delivers community-based risk education so that people can recognize explosive hazards and know how to report them safely, through school outreach, community sessions, and public messaging on the reporting hotline.

2️⃣ Victim Assistance

RENEW provides direct support to UXO survivors and persons with disabilities, including rehabilitation and mobility support, livelihood and vocational training, and awareness-raising on disability rights.

Challenges for Development

  • The province is home to more than 87,000 persons with disabilities.
  • Of these, over 42,000 people live with severe or exceptionally severe disabilities and currently receive state allowances.
  • Need is concentrated in the upland districts, where distance from health services and rehabilitation centres compounds the difficulty of getting care.

✅ Our Commitment to the Communities We Serve

Project RENEW remains committed to the people of Quảng Trị and Quảng Ngãi. Our priorities are:

  • Preventing accidents through community-based UXO Risk Education
  • Restoring dignity and mobility through direct support to survivors and persons with disabilities
  • Supporting life-saving UXO clearance, in partnership with Norwegian People’s Aid
  • Advocating for the inclusion and protection of the rights of people with disabilities
  • Building trust and safety, one village, one family, and one story at a time

Together, we are working toward a safer, more inclusive future for everyone in Quảng Trị and Quảng Ngãi.

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